Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution was a period from 1760 to around 1840 that saw a transition from hand production methods of manufacturing to machines, new chemical manufacturing, and iron production processes. The Industrial Revolution started in Great Britain due to the large amounts of natural resources located in the British Isles, and the development of trade and the rise of capitalism led to the revolution. The development of new technologies such as the steam engine, the flying shuttle, the cotton gin, and the seed drill led to the rise of the factory system in urban areas, with farmers and agricultural workers growing raw materials that would be manufactured into marketable goods at factories. The need for workers in the new factory system led to the rapid expansion of urban areas, the decline of agricultural areas, urban sprawl, increased migrant labor, the rise of the laborer and the decline of the farmer, and a rise in per capita income. Populations increased as new jobs were created, but there was some opposition to the new system. Agrarianists argued that the Industrial Revolution was causing greater unemployment among farmers as their jobs were outsourced to machines; Luddites sought to destroy machines to return jobs to unemployed workers; socialism and communism grew among workers who were opposed to the gross exploitation of labor by the now-dominant capitalist class; children's rights groups opposed the rise of child labor; and liberal groups sought shorter working hours and stronger safety laws. In the end, the Industrial Revolution created unprecedented sustained growth in average income and population, began a steady increase in the standard of living of the population, and started the mechanization process of labor.